Appaloutio
, sometimes referred to by its original name Appaloutio Republic, is a small power, democratic, multi-planet civilization in the inner section of the first arm of the Appearence. It has a population of / 1000000000 round 0}} billion, with the majority speaking Galactic Basic Standard. It is the biggest small power in terms of population Appaloutio owns seven planets in six systems. To its south is the Iaondi Republic and Lisianti Empire, to the east and west are unclaimed, primarily nonpopulated areas, and to the north is mostly unexplored and unclaimed. Appaloutio joined the Capita Council quite anonymously at its founding in April 2010. It became widely known in international politics when it was part of the Capita Council revolt, whereby ten members left to follow Jax Nano of BlyDonia's anti-imperialism policy, which saw the Appearence Democracy League (now the Economic League) pitted in a cold war agains the Appearence Imperial League. Since then, it has rejoined the council, although it is an observing member of the Order of Nations for Peace. Appaloutio is ruled by a democratic presidential republic, whereby a President is elected every 5 years, and leads the executive body of the government, called the Cabinet. The unicameral legislative branch is called the House of Laws. They also have democratically-elected ministers, voted in on elections which occur in between president elections. Government Appaloutio's government mainly comprises of the legislative branch (the House of Laws) and the executive branch (the Cabinet); the judicial branch only has a minor role in the government. Elections occur twice every five years, once for the leader of the cabinet, the President, and then once again 2.5 years later for the House of Laws. The last Presidential election was on February 4, 2013, and the last House of Laws election was on August 4, 2010. For the legislative elections, the nation is split in to 754 regions, determined based on historical, geographical and demographical factors. Each region sends a Representative to parliament based on a proportional representation voting system. The legislature has almost total control over the civilization, with the executive and judicial branch having vetoing powers but the legislature having the power to force the resignation of those two branches. They make all of the laws to which the civilization must abide. Presidential elections by comparison are more straight-forward. A political party elects a candidate to run in the elections. Regions are not considered except for statistical-analytical reasons; the nation's vote is considered as a whole in a first-past-the-post system. He appoints all his cabinet ministers, vetoes or approves legislature from the House of Laws, is in charge of foreign policy, and is commander-in-chief of the military. More importantly, though not officially part of his office, he is the leader of his political party, often mandating their policy, ideology and direction, which has a direct influence on the House of Laws. His power, while not officially or constitutionally significant, is considered very large. Due to the nature of the differing elections and the fact that the Presidential is more for a figurehead, so relies on independent candidates rather than the political party as a whole, the two often differ quite wildly in their results. There have been many instances of a President presiding over a government that does not enjoy a plurality by his party. Proportional voting system Appaloutio's proportional voting system is similar to the D'Hondt method (wikipedia): * Candidates campaign for a region under the banner of a political party or as "independent". * When all votes are in, political parties are all tallied up. Independent candidates are also grouped. * For each party, a list is made with their candidates being listed in order with the largest % of vote received coming first. * In the first round of counting, the political party with the most votes gets the candidate at the top of their list elected. All candidates for that region (including the one just elected) are removed from their party's lists. * In all subsequent rounds, the leading political party's total vote is halved, then the leading political party's candidate with the highest % of votes is elected, and their rival candidates are also removed from the party's list. * This goes on until all 754 seats are filled. This results in a system wherein the distribution of seats is proportional to the distribution of the popular vote, rather than the common first-past-the-post systems which often result in dominating parties. Political parties and elections The current political parties, by popularity in the last election, are: * Labor Movement, often shortened Labor. Left-wing party that whose manifesto involves the eventual nationalization of many public services and sectors, substantial increase in taxes (less so income tax), as well as an emphasis on higher worker power over their employers. They support the CC and ONP, but oppose too much integration. * Federal Party, often called the Federalists. The Federalist Party believes that the civilization should be split up in to semi-autonomous states, but has a center-right economic and social policy overall. They do not much campaign foreign policy, but are in support of the ONP. * Democracy and Freedom Party, often abbreviated DFP. The DFP is a right-wing populism party that believes in a strong national image and identity, but relatively left-wing economic policies to benefit the common worker. It opposes the CC and the ONP, and would crackdown on immigration and international trade a large amount. * New Appaloutio. The party is moderately right-winged and believes in a deeper relationship with surrounding civilizations and the Order of Nations for Peace. It is sceptical about the Capita Council. * Social Democratic Party of Appaloutio, often abbreviated SDPA. The SDPA is a center-left party that seeks to better Appaloutio using a light form of socialism with a free market. They believe in heavy involvement with the Capita Council, but do not agree with the ONP principles. * Party of Rights. Believes in setting up a constitution and the expansion of the judicial branch's powers. Relatively centrist in all other respects. * Progressive Unionist Party, often called PUP. This party's main goals are obviously progressivism. They believe in a greener approach to life, would raise income tax, lower military spending, increase science spending and welfare benefits. They are moderately Capita Council-sceptic, but recognize the benefits of strong trade relationships.